Northern Pride’s uncertain captaincy sparks pre-season buzz

Smith kicked off his tenure at the Pride this week, with players returning for their first pre-season sessions under the man who has taken the reins from Ty Williams, who coached the side from 2017 to 2023.

The changing of the guard in the coaching box means it’s an open opportunity for every member of the roster to prove themselves to Smith with competition for spots set to be hotter than it’s been in years.

Among the openings could be the captaincy.

Ostwald has held the captaincy since he first arrived at Barlow, first as a joint leader alongside Jayden Hodges before taking sole ownership of the role in 2023.

The Pride has put time and effort into developing the club’s next leaders, with players like front rower Paea Pua, second-rower Ewan Moore and five-eighth Matt Egan among those to have been part of leadership sessions through the past 12 months.

The sessions were driven to unlock the leadership potential of more players at the club, and with it brought a higher level of accountability.

But their development, and Smith’s appointment, means there are plenty of options for the new coach to consider.

When asked if Ostwald, one of the last re-signings to be announced by the club, would remain as captain, Smith praised the No.9’s leadership and efforts during the high school teacher’s stint at the Pride but confirmed no decision had been finalised.

And with that, came the challenge to players of all experience to step up and show the coach what they are capable of.

“It will be decided further down the track,” Smith said of the captaincy.

“Me coming in, fresh set of eyes, there’s a lot of guys in the squad I haven’t seen.

“I want to see myself who leads well by their actions at training.

“It’s a good clean slate for all players to show me who the leaders are in the squad.

“I have no doubt Ossie is one of those, he’s been a great leader. He’s one guy we were very keen to keep on board.

“Whether he is or isn’t captain, we still wanted him involved at the club based on his leadership around the group and the quality person he is as well.”

Ostwald brought up the 100-game milestone this season, which he accumulated between years-long stints at Brisbane Tigers and the Pride.

He played 56 games for the Tigers between 2016 and 2019, with 51 games for the Pride since 2020.

Pride chief executive Garreth Smith was proud to welcome back Ostwald to the club.

“Ozzie is a key part of the leadership group, being captain from last year,” he said.

“Getting him back on board was one of the key components in building this side and maintaining the side we had in 2023.

“From a leadership perspective, it’s really important for us.”

Northern pride captains 2007-2023

Chris Sheppard (2007-2010)

Ty Williams (2011-2013)

Ryan Ghietti (2016-2018)

Tom Hancock, Dave Murphy (2019)

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Chris Ostwald (2023 - ?)

Originally published as Northern Pride’s uncertain captaincy sparks pre-season buzz